How Big Is Your God?

Psalm 18:1-6

For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. He sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.

1I love you, LORD; you are my strength.

2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;

my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.

He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold.

3I will call on the LORD, who is worthy of praise,

for he saves me from my enemies.

4The ropes of death surrounded me;

the floods of destruction swept over me.

5The grave wrapped its ropes around me;

death itself stared me in the face.

6But in my distress I cried out to the LORD;

yes, I prayed to my God for help.

He heard me from his sanctuary;

my cry reached his ears.

What is God to you? Is your understanding of him today any different than it was ten years ago? Are you growing in your personal experience with God?

To David, God was “my strength,” “my rock,” “my fortress,” “my savior,” “my shield,” “the strength of my salvation,” and “my stronghold.” Nine times in the first two verses he uses the pronoun my. This shows that David had personally come to know God in many different ways.

Twice he refers to God as “my rock.” It’s quite possible this imagery came from David’s extended time in the wilderness, which was strewn with rocks. There he probably learned that rocks serve many valuable purposes.

The superscription of this psalm, which is repeated almost word for word in 2 Samuel 22, indicates that it was written after David was no longer threatened by Saul. It was also probably written before the problems with his family erupted. If he had written this psalm toward the end of his life, would he have addressed God in some additional ways?

Think of what God meant to you ten years ago. In what new ways can you appreciate God today? What new names might you ascribe to him?

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

In thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail;

Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,

Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend.

ROBERT GRANT

Bible Networking

How many differences do you find between 2 Samuel 22:1-7 and Psalm 18:1-6 (including the superscription)?

Notable Quotable

“What a comfort would it be to you to read how good your God was to your father or grandfather. So would your children and grandchildren rejoice in the Lord upon the reading of his goodness to you.”

RICHARD STEELE